OMM Goes Back to Dartmoor and Introduces Plas y Brenin Training Weekend
Rob Howard / 08.09.2010
After a gap of 28 years the OMM is going back to Dartmoor and the good news for those who would like take the very rare opportunity to race a ‘southern OMM’ is that there are still a few places available. (You’ll have to apply by post however, as online entry is now closed.) The event venue will be at Okehampton Camp with the race taking place as always on the last weekend in October.The last (and only) time the OMM was held on Dartmoor was in 1982, after the National Park Committee had originally turned down a request to go the area say the moor “should be kept as an area where the lone walker can find tranquillity and solitude.†Fortunately, attitudes changed and the race went ahead. After Jack Maitland and John Baston won the Elite (in just under 11 hours) the prizes were then presented by the Chairman of the National Park Committee, who said, “You’ll be more than welcome to return.†Well, it’s taken 28 years but now the OMM is on its way back to Devon (the only English venue used south of the Peak District).
<b>New Class and Trophy</b>
Other news from the OMM is that there is a new class being introduced to help contain environmental impact. So there are now 8 classes in all, with an additional class added between the B & C classes, but with the total number of entrants unchanged. The original C class will now be called D, with the same distance and climb as the old C Class, while the new C Class is intended to be a transition between the traditional linear course and the score courses and is a hybrid of the two. At certain stages on the course competitors will need to select which controls they want to visit and the result will still be based on time.
There is also a new trophy being introduced called the Hutton Trophy, which is for the best military team and this year the award will focus on the Long Score. The award has been presented to OMM by the family of Marine Jamie Hutton who was tragically killed in a training accident. Jamie and his father, Jim, also a serving Royal Marine, were the highest placed family team in their category in the Brecon Beacons 2006.
<b>Training Weekend at Plas-y-Brenin</b>
OMM have also set up a training weekend for Mountain Marathon competitors and adventure racers (and anyone else who would like to improve on their skills and fitness), to be held at Plas y Brenin, Britain's National Outdoor Training Centre, in the heart of Snowdonia on Sept 25th and 26th 2010
The weekend will include navigational training courses, route planning, lightweight camping & a small local event to practice your skills on. There will be talks and guest appearances from previous winners and experienced races, as well as more unusual workshops such as canoeing or mountain biking for those also interested in multi-sport adventure racing. Residential or non residential places available and the full package including 2 nights accommodation and meals is only £160.
<b>OMM to Organise Polaris Mountain Bike Challenge in 2011</b>
Finally, the OMM organisation will now be taking over the running of the Polaris Mountain Bike Challenge from next year, combining the original mountain marathon and bike mountain marathons under one organisation. (The Polaris Challenge began in the autumn of 1991 as the very first two-day mountain biking orienteering event in the world and is still the biggest race of its kind.)
To keep up with all OMM news see www.theomm.com
